Busi Mhlongo – Urbanzulu Live
Reviewed by Sadie O., 6/25/10
Unique South African female vocalist, combining traditional South African Zulu and township styles with a range of modern and western elements. Truly dynamic singer, singing in everything from a haunting trembling falsetto to a roar. She was a powerhouse to watch live, with her male backup singer/dancers in full Zulu warrior getup. She didn’t leave much recorded material when she died of cancer two weeks prior to this writing, but it’s seriously amazing stuff. This live album unfortunately includes too much crowd noise and talking between songs (which I guess is useful in a way as it often explains the meaning of the song titles, but you’ll probably want to cut it off for the radio), but that’s a small price to pay. No FCCs.
1. 8:20 ***rather too much crowd sounds at start, then slow intro with distinctly South African guitar styling. Haunting high vocals after a minute, chanting. Probably Busi’s best known song – means “African Nation, Calm.” Ends 47 seconds early with some crowd noises and Busi talking in English.
2. 10:05 ****lovely township style guitar flourishes, high vocals, bluesy harmonica – interesting combination. GREAT vocals. Ends about 47 seconds early again.
3. 9:03 ***gorgeous acoustic guitar intro, swaying groove with marimba, song about Peace. Complex rhythm and vocals. Ends about 12 seconds early.
4. 9:47 ****pretty guitar intro (ok, they all seem to start this way…) Call and response vocals between Busi and male chorus. Interesting stuttering guitar. Ends well over a minute early!
5. 7:14 ***fairly similar – a bit bouncier rhythm, more male chorus. Gets faster as it goes, and adds complex guitar interchanges. Ends only 14 seconds early!
6. 10:27 *****guitar, marimba and amazing vocals. Wild! Morphs into very swingy and traditional sound, but with just insane vocals. Ends after lots of percussion, 20 seconds early.
7. 11:39 ***guitar and upbeat percussion, nice bass as well. Rather celebratory sound, builds a lot. A bit overlong – I think it probably actually was an exit and re-entry in concert. Last three minutes mostly instrumental jam. Ends 30 seconds early.